Lai Ching-te, also known asWilliam Lai, is a Taiwanese politician and former physician who is the current vice president of the Republic of China and the president-elect of Taiwan, having won the 2024 presidential election.
Born in Taipei County, Lai studied rehabilitation and public health at universities in Taipei, ultimately obtaining a Master’s degree from Harvard University in 2003. After serving as the president of the National Physician Support Association, Lai ran in the 1996 Legislative Yuan election, winning a seat representing Tainan City. After being re-elected to the Legislative Yuan four consecutive times, Lai ran for Mayor of Tainan in 2010. Lai easily won, and would serve as Mayor for seven years, winning reelection in 2014. In September 2017, President Tsai Ing-wen announced Lai would replace outgoing Premier Lin Chuan. He has served as the vice president of the Republic of China since 2020. He served as a legislator in the Legislative Yuan from 1999 to 2010, and as Mayor of Tainan from 2010 to 2017, prior to taking office as premier of Taiwan.
On 24 November 2018, he announced his intention to resign from the premiership after the Democratic Progressive Party suffered a major defeat in local elections, and left office on 14 January 2019 after the swearing-in of his successor Su Tseng-chang. Lai mounted a challenge against Tsai in the 2019 Democratic Progressive Party presidential primary and after defeat, served as the running mate of Tsai in the 2020 Taiwan presidential election in which the tandem was victorious. In April 2023, Lai was nominated by the DPP as their presidential candidate for the 2024 presidential election and was elected with 40.05% of votes.
Describing himself as a "pragmatic worker for Taiwanese independence", he favors strengthening relations with the United States and other liberal democracies.
